Rowley Associates

Is creativity the most important leadership attribute?

According to a study by IBM, creativity is the #1 leadership requirement. Based on interviews with over 1,500 CEO’s around the world 60% cited creativity as the most important leadership quality, followed by Integrity (52%) and ‘Global Thinking’ (35%). ‘Fairness’ and ‘Humility’ were rated least desirable. The full results are illustrated below.

What is interesting about [...]

The Poetry of Leadership

I came across this poem by Roger McGough on a London Tube train years ago and it has stayed with me ever since. I often use it as an introduction to the challenges of leadership.
The Leader
“I wanna be the leader
I wanna be the leader
Can I be the leader?
Can I? Can I?
Promise? Promise?
Yippee I’m the leader
I’m [...]

Research Reports

Unlike other companies, Rowley Associates has 25 years of collecting and analyzing comprehensive research from their Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies. This proprietary data has culminated into a series of timely, relevant and actionable research reports that are now available for business leaders, HR professionals, OD experts and coaches to take advantage of. For access to our reports, sign up for premium content membership. It’s free!

Why is it so hard for people to make decisions?

I’ve sat in hundreds of meetings. Most are dismal affairs. Mind-numbingly boring, few people really wanting to be there (the mentality being ‘the real work is done outside this meeting’), decisions circle the airspace of the meeting room, never getting the OK to land. Very few have truly captured the potential of the people in [...]